At Least None of Us Are Getting Typhoid

It's been difficult to write this.  I'd love to say we're home from the hospital after a successful surgery and all is well as we wait for Karl's incisions to heal.  The truth is, we got the labs back on Friday just as we were waiting for him to be discharged.  We're disappointed.  The dumb cancer was found in five of the lymph nodes.  Stage 3B.  Not what we were expecting to hear at all.  I guess no one expects that.  The doc didn't see any overt signals of it spreading when she did the surgery and I clung to her words.  This surgery would be but a little speed bump as our life went on.  Now it's a much bigger speed bump.

We came home Friday a bit numb.  We told our pastors and a few others. The girls were at the Comicon til Saturday and we didn't feel it best to tell them until they were home.  It was good to have a day to wrap our heads around what we had heard.  Surreal.  This is the stuff of movies or other people.  Not my husband. Not our life.

We talked to Kody first.  He understood more than I expected.  Earlier this year he had read a book by Josh Sundquist called Just Don't Fall.  Josh lost his leg to cancer and is now a para Olympic skier, Youtuber, and motivational speaker.  Because of the book, Kody was familiar with cancer and treatments.  After we talked about Dad's cancer, Kody wanted to know if Karl would have to have anything amputated.  I told him the doctors had already amputated part of his colon and it was on the inside where no one could see. This seemed to satisfy him.  He next asked if Dad would be too sick to play with him during the chemo.  I told him there may be days when he's sick but also days when he feels fine.  That seemed to satisfy Kody.

The girls got home from Comicon and we told them the results of the labs.  They were disappointed but handled it as well as any of us.

Right now, Karl has to heal from the surgery.  Laparoscopic surgery is pretty cool.  The recovery time is fairly speedy compared to what it could be.  He has to eat low fiber for a few days and then back to normal.  He also has to get up and moving to heal faster.  It's been interesting to remind him his definition for "short walks" is different than the doctor's definition.  He can't lift more than 10 pounds for about 6 weeks.  He can't drive until he sees the doctor again.  Karl feels a bit sore and tired.  Other than that, I told him he looks too good.  The people who are gracious enough to bring us meals from church are going to think we're "meal mooching".  He needs to moan a bit more and lay there with a lap quilt.

Mark, Karl's brother, brought us a juicer.  Karl's not a fan of healthy things unless they are coated in chocolate, cheese, or root beer.  Mark and Melissa also brought up a fridge full of leafy greens and fruits to juice.  We tried a combination of kale, cucumber, carrot, apple, bananas, and yogurt that wasn't too bad.  He's adjusting to our new "jungle juice" regimen.  With a root beer float chaser.

He sees the surgeon again later this week and the oncologist again next week.  They will set up a plan to start chemo.  Don't know much more until then.

We have been in contact with a friend who teaches in the district who has gone through a very similar bout with colon cancer in the last two years.  She had the same stage, same surgeon, same oncologist.  Now she's doing great.  Her recovery has been encouraging.  It's amazing how her horrible experience is now such a gift of experience and hope to us.

As we drove home from the hospital we stopped at the end of the road and got our mail- a bill from the pediatrician's office for all the typhoid shots the kids had.  Whew.  We are so relieved that none of us have to face typhoid this year.  Such a relief.  Malaria either.  And we have a fridge full of other assorted prescriptions that might come in handy if dengue fever strikes Oro Valley.  Not everyone can say that!

Karl told me this morning that when he's on a mountain bike ride problems often come up... flat tires, chains breaking or coming off.  That doesn't stop the trip.  You fix the problem and get back on the trail.  That's what we have to do now.  Fix the problem so we can get back on the trail.  

Thanks for the words of encouragement and love.  Thanks for the meals and cards.  Thanks for giving us a little space to sort through this.  As you can imagine, the emotions are flying fast and furious.  Sometimes I'm numb, sad, mad, scared, and hopeful....all in the same hour.

Karl has also given me more mountain bike advice that seems appropriate.  Look where you want to go.  Don't look at the cholla.  Pick your line and watch the trail.  Your bike goes where your eyes are.  So that's what I want to do.  Keep my eyes up and look ahead -do not look at the cholla. I guess that's the Arizona equivalent of Peter getting out of the boat and looking at Jesus instead of looking at the waves around him.

Through it all, God loves us.  He has a plan for us that includes this broken chain.  We're going to pull off and fix the problem. Then He will get us back on the trail because we've got a lot of ground left to cover.....

Perspective.  Gratitude.  Trust.  Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.  Great is His faithfulness!

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